Magnetite surface properties in the various conditions of power plant water steam cycle

Project Information

MSP

Grant agreement ID: 795275

DOI

10.3030/795275

Project closed

EC signature date 19 March 2018

Start date 1 July 2018

End date 30 June 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 165 598,80

EU contribution

€ 165 598,80

Coordinated by

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MSP (Magnetite surface properties in the various conditions of power plant water steam cycle)

Reporting period: 2018-07-01 to 2020-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The surface properties of magnetite have been defined as a priority topic of missing knowledge of interest for power industry, since many power companies suffer from deposition of corrosion products in the water steam cycle and subsequent economic consequences.
There for the overall objective of the research is to improve the power plant performance, reliability and availability, and decrease sizable economic consequences that raise the costs of electrical energy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The research comprised: (1) A new experimental research technique-potentiometric titration at high temperature aqueous solutions. 2) Designing and constructing a new high temperature experimental set-up, through research, in order to learn how to independently build advanced high temperature experimental installations. (3) XRD and SEM techniques, thorough research, in order to characterize metal oxide. (4) Water Quality Modelling –course. Software PHREEQC for chemical water stability modelling for drinking water treatment and Stimela for modelling of water quality. (5) Surface complexation modelling, through research, using FITEQL software, in order to learn how to develop models to describe surface of colloidal particle and apply them to predict the deposition behavior of colloidal particles in industrial processes involving high temperature aqueous solutions. 6) Advanced water technologies such as (anaerobic) Membrane Bioreactors and ceramic membrane filtration participating in Water Treatment Colloquiums. (7) Ultrafiltration of Effluent, through laboratory experiment and practical introduction by laboratory technician, to learn advanced techniques for wastewater treatment.

In addition activities were executed to develop scientific skills: (8) Connection with the water industry aimed at establishing future cooperation and use the research results in practice. Visit companies Evides Industry Water (provides water to industries in the Netherlands) and Logisticon Water Treatment (provides complete water treatment installations) and carry out consultation with management and operating personnel. (9) Secondment (6 months) at Ghent to train quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) for deposition rate measurement and (10) contact angle measurement by goniometer, through research. (11) XDR and SEM, BET experimental techniques, through research, in order to expand her experimental skills in materials characterization. (12) XDLVO theory to learn to model the interaction energy (Matlab, Python, Ingmar Nopens).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project showed an innovative concept that could can be used to reduce the deposition on power generating surfaces based on the interaction between the suspended magnetite particles and metal wall surface. This research is a breakthrough in water steam cycle operations. The research provided the first results on interaction of magnetitie with organic additives (film forming amines) and impurities (organic acids), which is important in the energy sector due to the influence of these interactions on the deposition rate, and consequently, deposition-related availability losses. The research provided the data for development of the first surface complexation model for predicting the magnetite surface reactivity in presence of examined species at various temperatures. The production of the first results on the influence of film forming amines on magnetite layer formation at high temperatures and pressures up to 290 oC and resistance of this layer on organic acids present in the power plant water-steam cycle is still under progress and will immediately be used in industry. The most distinguished innovation is the new high-temperature high-pressure set-up (autoclave), constructed and built to provide the novel experimental conditions and enable a high versatility of the water related high –temperature experiments of interest for power industry and other industrial facilities and technological processes using the high temperature water medium. This set-up, operational up to 300oC/200 bar, serves in the first place for colloidal magnetite surface investigation but also for other high temperature investigations such as thermolysis of film forming amines or metal surface corrosion in the presence of water additives and impurities. The set-up opens up new frontiers in interface and corrosion studies that is both technically challenging and technologically important. This high temperature installation will also enable the results to be directly translated to practice.

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